Hezbollah’s Rise Casts Doubt on Lebanon’s Status as ‘Paris of the Middle East’

Email a copy of "Hezbollah’s Rise Casts Doubt on Lebanon’s Status as ‘Paris of the Middle East’" to a friend

Hezbollah terrorists on parade in Lebanon. Photo: File.

JNS.org – Due to its unique geopolitical history, Lebanon has long been viewed as one of the most Westernized countries in the Arab world. But the rising political power of the Hezbollah terror group is leading to radicalization there, as well as to increased Lebanese efforts to thwart normalization between Israelis and Arabs.

Lebanese authorities last week reversed a decision to ban Steven Spielberg’s new film “The Post,” which had been barred over the director’s support for Israel. Further, Lebanese-born filmmaker Ziad Doueiri came under fire for his last film “The Attack,” which was partly filmed in Israel. As a result of Doueiri’s supposed efforts to normalize relations with Israel, his new film, “The Insult,” was “boycotted by half the population” in Lebanon, the filmmaker told the Los Angeles Times.

Earlier this month, Hanin Ghaddar, a Lebanese journalist and visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, was sentenced to six months in jail in absentia for criticizing Lebanon’s army. And last year, the “Wonder Woman”film was banned in Lebanon because of Israeli actress Gal Gadot’s leading role.

These developments in Lebanon come at a time when Arab countries — such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan — have been more reserved than expected in their criticism of Israel, and the Trump administration’s recent announcements on Jerusalem. Further, the interests of Israel and many Arab states are increasingly aligning, due to their shared concern about the Iranian threat.

Related coverage

JNS.org - “That was a real wow for me,” said Lt.-Col. Tzachi Revivo, deputy commander of the Meitav recruitment unit...

But in Lebanon, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called last week for a boycott of Trump until he reverses his Jerusalem moves. And now, many are casting doubt on the future of a progressive Lebanon.

“The famous conceit about Beirut as the ‘Paris of the Middle East’ is obsolete. There are a lot of longstanding myths about the country and the ostensible liberalism of its society,” Tony Badran, a Lebanon expert and research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JNS.

There is an enduring view among some Israelis and American Jews that Lebanese Christians are sympathetic to Israel, in part because they are also thought of as supposedly pro-Western. But Badran noted that “for all the talk of liberalism, Lebanon is actually a traditionalist society in many ways, and not just the Muslims, but also the Christians.”

The perception of Lebanese Christians’ liberalism was never really true, claims Badran, pointing out that the ideas such as critical theory and post-colonialism that are in vogue on the country’s college campuses, such as American University in Beirut, lend themselves to anti-Americanism.

What Lebanon is experiencing is top-down enforcement from the government to align the nation’s culture with state policy, said Badran, who grew up in the country. The moves to ban movies produced by Doueiri or by American Jews like Spielberg fall in this category, he said — adding that when the Syrians ran Lebanon following the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 1990, Syria and Hezbollah promoted an anti-Western “resistance” culture that still maintains a dominant position in Lebanese society.

Asked about the anti-normalization attitude towards Israel, Badran said that “it is not only because of the dominance of Hezbollah or the Syrians before it. It’s also due to support from major sectors of society, from all the groups.”

“The [current Lebanese] political class, meanwhile, is either a bunch of pro-Hezbollah sycophants or the more venal politicians,” stated Badran.

Hanna Varulkar, director of research at the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), told JNS that the political power of Hezbollah and its allies inside Lebanon has also increased in recent years. This is reflected, she said, in “domestic Lebanese politics as well as Lebanon’s foreign policy positions, which are more often aligned with the axis of ‘resistance’ headed by Iran, and less with Saudi Arabia.”

Lebanon’s failure to stand by Saudi Arabia in its struggle with Iran has caused ongoing tensions between the two countries. This situation is described in depth in a MEMRI report that includes details of the fallout from the Saudi suspension of billions of dollars in aid to Lebanon.

Varulkar also noted that last November, Saudi Arabia reportedly expressed anger at Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri because Lebanon’s government was making decisions that were favoring Hezbollah positions and ultimately supporting Iran.

As a result of Hezbollah’s increasing strength, she continued, political forces opposed to the Islamist movement in Lebanon, mainly the pro-Saudi March 14 Forces headed by Hariri’s Future Movement, “have greatly reduced their criticism of Hezbollah compared to previous years.”

Asked about the anti-Israel sentiment in Lebanon, Varulkar observed that “for many years, it has been difficult to find elements in Lebanon who would speak in favor of normalization with Israel, and this is also true of Lebanese elements who are considered more moderate. … Anyone who dares speak of normalization is immediately subject to harsh attacks and accusations of betrayal.”